EAST PEORIA HIGH SCHOOL'S FOOTBALL TEAM posted its third unbeaten season in four years in 1938, the final year for Coach Harvey Stamper, who died the following year. The powerful Raiders went unscored upon in six games, with only Washington breaching the East Peoria defense in a 21-6 game. Manual came the closest to the Red Raiders, losing only 14-0 in a season when East Peoria's potent offense ran up 224 points. Center Edgar Mullins and halfbacks Glen Seibert and Charley Gilkesson were named to the All-City first team while tackle George Walley, guard Tom Pinkham, end Bill Barnett and sophomore fullback Corwin Clatt, later to star for Notre Dame, made the second team. Honorable mention honors went to ends Jack Lotz and Darrell Peters, tackle Howie Moreland, guard Thad Pinkham and quarterback Fritz Millard.

Heather Cassady was only a sophomore in the 1995-96 school year, but the Dunlap High School two-sport standout showed such talent she was named the Tri-County Female Athlete of the Year.

First came basketball.

The 5-foot-5 guard averaged 15.5 points (including such monstrous scoring games as 30 and 35 points in the sectional and super-sectional, respectively), 8.5 assists and 4.6 steals.

She was named the Journal Star's Player of the Year in Class A and was a vital reason why Dunlap made the school's first appearance in the state finals, finishing fourth after bowing to Byron 59-57 in the third-place game.

Then the softball season arrived.

Dunlap's second baseman, Cassady hit .562, the highest on the Journal Starís Class A all-star team.

Attending grade school in East Peoria, Cassady became a basketball standout playing against boys.

"I was sort of a tomboy because I grew up around the guys," Cassady has said. "That's why I can play like a guy, because I played with boys like Mark Vershaw and Jason Jenkins (East Peoria's very large standouts)."